Book of Abraham Excerpt, circa October 1835 [Abraham
1:4–2:6]

That you may have an understanding of their gods I have
given you the fashion of them in the figures at the begining which
manner of figures is called by the Chaldians, Kah-lee–nos-—>

H

And as they lifted up
their hands upon me that they might offer me up
and take away my life behold I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my
God; and the lord harkened, and heard and he filled me with a vision of
the almighty and the angel of his presence stood by my feet and
immediately loosed my bands

H

And his voice was unto me
Abram Abram Behold my name is Jehovah, and I have heard thee and have come
down to deliver thee, and to take thee away from thy fathers house,
and from all thy Kinsfolks, in to a strange land which thou knowest not
of, and this because
they have turned their hearts away from
me to worship the god of Elk Kee-nah and the god of Zibnah and of
Mah–Mach-rah– and the god of pharaoh King of Egypt. Therefore I have come
down to visit them, and to distroy him, who hath lifted up his hand
against thee Abram my son to
take away thy life, Behold I will
lead thee by my hand and I will take thee, to put upon thee my name
even the priesthood of thy father, and my power shall be over thee;
as it was with Noah so shall it be with thee, that through thy ministry,
my name shall be known, in the earth forever, for I am thy
God

H

Behold Potiphers hill was in the land of Ur of
Chaldea and the Lord broke down the alter of Elk-Keenah and of the
godsof the land, and utterly distroyed them and smote the priest that he
died and there was great morning in Chaldean and also in the court of
Pharaoh which Pharaoh signifies King by royal blood. Now this King of
Egypt was a discendent from the loins of Ham and was a partaker of
the blood of the Cananitess by birth: From this decent sprang all the
Egyptians and thus the blood of the Cannites was preserved in the land

H

[p. 2]

H

That you may have an understanding of their gods I have
given you the fashion of them in the figures at the begining which
manner of figures is called by the Chaldians, Kah-lee–nos-—>

H

And as they lifted up
their hands upon me that they might offer me up toand<
and> take away my life behold I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my
God; and the lord harkened, and heard and he filled me with a vision of
the almighty and the angel of his presence stood by my feet and
immediately loosed my bands

H

And his voice was unto me
Abram Abram Behold my name is Jehovah, and I have heard thee and have come
down to deliver thee, and to take thee away from thy fathers house,
and from all thy Kinsfolks, in to a strange land which thou knowest not
of, and this because theirheartsareturned they have turned their hearts away from
me to worship the god of Elk Kee-nah and the god of Zibnah and of
Mah–Mach-rah– and the god of pharaoh King of Egypt. Therefore I have come
down to visit them, and to distroy him, who hath lifted up his hand
against thee Abraham Abram my son to
distroy thy take away thy life, Behold I will
lead thee by my hand and I will take thee, to put upon thee my name
even the priesthood of thy father, and my power shall be over thee;
as it was with Noah so shall it be with thee, that through thy ministry,
my name shall be known, in the earth forever, for I am thy
God

H

Behold Potiphers hill was in the land of Ur of
Chaldea and the Lord broke down the alter of Elk-Keenah and of the
godsof the land, and utterly distroyed them gods of
the landand smote the priests that he
died and there was great morning in Chaldean and also in the court of
Pharaoh which Pharaoh signifies King by royal blood. Now this King of
Egypt was a discendent from the loins of Ham and was a partaker of
the blood of the Cananitess by birth: From this decent sprang all the
Egyptians and thus the blood of the Cannites was preserved in the land

Napoleon Bonaparte’s
late-eighteenth-century adventures, depredations, and exploits unintentionally
inaugurated an age of exploration and inquiry into Egyptian antiquities.
Subsequently, sometime between 1817 and
1821, an Italian explorer, Antonio Lebolo,
uncovered a tomb near
Thebes, Egypt, containing a large cache of mummies and
papyri. Later, eleven of the mummies were sent to
New York City

Dutch founded New Netherland colony, 1625. Incorporated under British control and renamed New York, 1664. Harbor contributed to economic and population growth of city; became largest city in American colonies. British troops defeated Continental Army under...

under what remain curious circumstances. In
late June or early July
1835 some of the Saints in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

,
Ohio, purchased four Lebolo mummies and associated papyri from
Michael Chandler, an antiquities dealer visiting
the area. (Hauglid, Textual History of the Book of Abraham, 1.)
JS’s close associate
William W. Phelps

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

: “On the last of June four Egyptian
mummies were brought here. With them were two papyrus rolls, besides some other
ancient Egyptian writings. . . . They were presented to President Smith. He
soon knew what they were and said that the rolls of papyrus contained a sacred
record kept by Joseph in Pharaoh’s court in Egypt and the teachings of Father
Abraham.” Phelps added, “These records of old times when we translate and print
them in a book will make a good witness for the Book of Mormon.” (William W.
Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Phelps, Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Journal
History of the Church, 20 July 1835, CHL.)

Later that year, in response to
public excitement prompted by “erroneous statements” circulating in the press
concerning the Egyptian artifacts, correspondence between
Oliver
Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

was printed in the December 1835 issue of the
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Published under the
heading “Egyptian Mummies – Ancient Records,” Cowdery’s letter to Frye
endeavored to set the record straight concerning “a quantity of ancient
records.” After reviewing the circumstances surrounding acquisition of the
artifacts and describing some papyri in detail, Cowdery observed in closing,
“When the translation of these valuable documents will be completed I am unable
to say; neither can I give you a probable idea how large volumes they will
make. . . . Be they little or much, it must be an inestimable acquisition to
our present scriptures.” (“Egyptian Mummies – Ancient Records,” LDS
Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 2:223–227.)

By the time the Messenger
and Advocate account was published,
JS,
Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

10 Jan. 1803–3 Jan. 1877. Clergyman, gardener. Born in New York. Son of John Parrish and Ruth Farr. Married first Elizabeth (Betsey) Patten of Westmoreland Co., New Hampshire, ca. 1822. Lived at Alexandria, Jefferson Co., New York, 1830. Purchased land at...

had invested portions of the
previous six months working with the Egyptian materials.
JS’s journal
for the period from October to
December 1835 contains nine entries recording activity directly
associated with the Egyptian documents.
One product of their endeavors was a draft transcription of what was
designated the Book of Abraham, a first-person narrative recounting a portion
of the life of the biblical patriarch Abraham.

The text featured here represents
the Abraham text drafted in fall
1835 and is in the hand of
Frederick G. Williams

, who served as one
of JS’s scribes at that time. It consists of two
pages, front and back, covering what is now referred to as Abraham 1:4−2:6 in
the Pearl of Great Price. The text of the first line may be related to the
Egyptian materials acquired from
Chandler, but nothing definitive has been
determined. The manuscript also contains nineteen Egyptian hieratic characters
(a cursive form of hieroglyphics) in the left margins. These hieratic
characters were taken from the papyri purchased from Chandler, but their exact
significance and relationship to the text remains undetermined.

That the text is organized into
paragraphs with some punctuation, and that it contains several cancellations
and insertions of the sort often associated with recopying a document, suggests
that it may have been transcribed from an earlier draft. The manuscript has
been in the possession of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since
the Nauvoo period. (Hauglid, Textual History of the Book of
Abraham, 64–65.)

Note: When an Egyptian hieratic character appears on the
manuscript, it is represented by a stylized “H” in the transcript. The
transcript of the Book of Abraham excerpt presented here is used with generous
permission of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. It was
published earlier, with some differences in style, in Brian M. Hauglid,
A Textual History of the Book of Abraham: Manuscripts and
Editions (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious
Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2010), 66–81.

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

Note: When an Egyptian hieratic character appears on the
manuscript, it is represented by a stylized “H” in the transcript. The
transcript of the Book of Abraham excerpt presented here is used with
permission of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. It was
published earlier, with some differences in style, in Brian M. Hauglid,
A Textual History of the Book of Abraham: Manuscripts and
Editions (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious
Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2010), 66–81.